Tangled Up In You
by pullingbeckettspigtails
Summary: Prompt; "In 'An Embarrassment of Bitches' (4x13) instead of going to Kay, Royal pushes Beckett and Castle together."


**Prompt from hannahbelle-caskett (via castlefanficprompts); "In 'An Embarrassment of Bitches' instead of going to Kay, Royal pushes Beckett and Castle together"**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Kate pulled her long, thick locks into a tight ponytail as she prepared for her run, making herself a fruit smoothie with the small blender perched on her kitchen counter, but stopped it prematurely as she heard soft noises from outside her apartment door. She furrowed her brow and waited a few seconds, before the knocking began.<p>

"Coming!" Kate called out, quickly hurrying to the door. As she opened it, she was greeted with the sight of her casually dressed partner beaming at her and a dog sitting obediently at her doorstep.

"Castle? What are you doing here?" She asked inquisitively, eyebrows raised in question.

"Well, I was going to take Royal here out for a walk before lunch, and I thought I would see if you were free. We could create a little family dynamic." Rick shrugged, eyes brightly shining.

"Family dynamic?" Kate repeated hesitantly.

"Yeah! Shared custody implies that we have different visitation hours, but we can spend time with him together. It'll help us bond with him," Castle explained, casting his gaze downwards at the canine, "Right, buddy?"

Kate sighed lightly, opening her mouth to respond until the writer cut her off, "I know that look. That's your rejection look. I've seen it enough times to recognise it."

"Trying to guilt-trip me into this, Castle?" She teased, though she knew his statement was meant light-heartedly.

"Will guilt-tripping make you say yes?"

Beckett pursed her lips together as Rick continued, "Come on! You're already dressed for the outside world! Unless those ridiculously tight running pants are what you usually wear around the apartment?"

She rolled her eyes before nodding, "Fine. Let's get all domestic and walk the dog together."

Castle grinned and jumped slightly, causing his knees to pop, "That is, if you can keep up with Royal and I?" The woman mocked with a glint in her eyes.

"Please, detective. I assure you my stamina is perfectly able to handle this, among other things."

"One step at a time, Writer-boy." Kate teased, as she tied her shoes then reached for her keys.

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><p>"So, where are we walking to, Castle?" Kate asked as they left her apartment's lobby, stepping into the mild New York mid-morning Sun.<p>

"Wherever you'd like to go." He shrugged in response, "I was thinking of just going around Central Park. I know you're not really supposed to let dogs off their leashes when you've just got them, but considering he's a previously trained narcotics dog, he should be pretty obedient." He smiled, bending down to lightly ruffle Royal's ears.

Kate smiled at the show of affection, "Sounds good."

They continued to stroll in silence for a while longer before Kate piped up, "So, how's Alexis doing?"

"She's great! She's looking into doing some internships over the next few weeks," Kate hummed in curiosity, prompting him to continue, "Yeah, probably some Science-y based ones, since that's what she's thinking of doing in college."

Kate nodded, "Hey, y'know what? I could talk to Lanie if she'd like, get her an internship in the morgue?"

"I, um, yeah, maybe she'd like that. I'll ask her. Yeah." Rick mumbled with hesitancy.

"What? What's the matter?"

"It's just…" A loud sigh escaped his mouth, "Murder, mystery, dead bodies, that's sort of… my thing." Kate turned to him, causing him to ramble on, "Never mind, it's stupid."

"No, completely understandable."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Kate agreed, "You're scared that everyone will like little Castle more than they like you." She teased with a smirk gracing her features.

Castle groaned, "That's low, Beckett. After 3 years at the precinct? They wouldn't trade me in for a newer model."

"I'm sure Gates would do it in a heartbeat."

"She would not d-" Rick paused, panic washing over his face, "Would she?"

Beckett bit her lip silently before speaking, "Maybe. I mean, little Castle's cuter than you, she can probably run faster, would actually do paperwork…"

"But would she have the same outlandish theories as yours truly?"

"Probably. She spends enough time with you, right?"

"She's not as handsome as me though."

"Because that's what Gates keeps you here for. Your handsomeness."

"Hey, some people at the precinct must appreciate me as their eye candy." He leered, glancing over pointedly at his companion.

"Yeah, you're right." She replied, causing Rick's eyes to grow wider, "I'm sure Espo would miss having you to drool over." She winked, focusing her gaze forward again.

Rick huffed, "Fine. But you know what you do keep me around for?" He suddenly grasped Kate's hand and pulled her to a halt, along with Royal, in front of a small, cosy café. "Coffee."

Kate hummed happily, "Very true."

"I'll go in and order two to-go cups, you stay here with our little buddy?" He proposed, handing Kate the leash.

She nodded as he strolled in, the small, silver bell above the door ringing at his arrival.

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><p>Less than two minutes later, Rick returned with a holder containing two cardboard cups in one hand, and something clasped in his other.<p>

"One grande vanilla latte for the lady." He smiled warmly as he handed her the beverage, their hands touching for brief seconds.

"And…" He crouched down in front of Royal, "Some doggy treats for the boy." He opened his fist to reveal three brown biscuits in the shape of bones, which Royal gladly ate up.

Kate shook her head incredulously with a small smile, "How did you even get those?"

He shrugged, "Like I said, some people appreciate me as eye candy."

Beckett rolled her eyes good-naturedly, "Fine. I'll keep you around at the precinct, should we ever find ourselves in a situation where we are in desperate need free dog treats."

"You here that, buddy?" He fake-whispered to the retriever, "I'm in." He reached out his hand for Royal to shake, chuckling as the dog did so immediately.

Kate laughed as she carefully placed the leash back in Castle's free hand, "Come on then, boys, to the park we go."

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><p>The two continued in pleasant conversation for the rest of the journey, (aside from the small bickering over who should have to pick up Royal's feces), and eventually they found a green, wood paneled bench near a large oak tree to sit on. As soon as they laid foot on the green grass, Royal started pulling on his leash slightly more eagerly.<p>

"Whoa, boy!" Kate exclaimed, "Let me place my coffee down and I can unclip you so you can run, okay?"

The words were no use as Royal continued to run in circles as the two put their coffees on the small, round table, barking happily at the other visitors in the park. He kept wriggling out of Kate's grasp, tongue wagging as he ran laps around the two friends' legs.

"I know you want to go play, bud, but let Beckett untangle you first, okay?" Rick explained, but to no avail.

The leash was now wrapped tightly around Kate and Rick's shins, making them practically unable to move.

Rick let out a breathy chuckle as Kate continued to try and grab Royal's collar, "I thought this only happened in movies."

"From the gazes of the people around us, I think they do too." Kate huffed, hands grasping at the dog's sides. She finally managed to hold onto the collar for long enough to detach the small silver clip.

Royal quickly realised he was free, sprinting over to the middle of the park with force, harshly knocking into Rick who lost his balance and fell to the ground, pulling Kate down with him due to their intertwined legs.

As soon as they got over the shock, the two of them dissolved into laughter, still incredibly close to one another, their bodies touching as they lay on the grass, Rick's arm trapped behind Kate's back as he tried to cushion her fall.

As the laughter died down, the two looked deeply into each other's eyes, not sure how to break the moment between them.

"So, how's your earlier mentioned charm going to get you out of this one, Castle?" Kate joked, making no effort to distance herself from her partner's warm body pressing into hers.

"Hmm… I have an idea." He smirked, his eyes tracing her facial features.

"Oh?"

"You have to close your eyes though."

Kate squinted her eyes slightly as she opened her mouth to make a remark, but Rick quickly interrupted, "Just, trust me, okay?"

She shook her head minutely, but fluttered her eyelids closed as he requested.

His voice resonated in her ears, sounding closer than previously, even though it was lower in volume, "You don't have your gun on you, do you?"

"No?" Kate replied hesitantly, keeping her eyelids firmly shut.

"Good, I'd hate to be killed for this."

Before Kate could ask him to specify, he lunged forward and captured her lips with his softly, giving her a chance to pull back. After a few moments, she turned slightly in order to place her hands on either side of Rick's face, gently running her fingers over his cheeks as he tentatively rubbed her sides.

The kiss continued to grow in intensity, until both of them felt a warm, wet tongue lathering their faces, causing them to break apart in hysterics. Royal stood over them, panting as he nudged their faces with his black, wet nose.

"Come on then, bud." Castle said affectionately, causing the retriever to lay down next to the two of them.

Kate chuckled and patted the dog's stomach as Rick finally untangled their legs so they were more comfortable. Once he had finished, he pulled himself back up to Kate and Royal, grinning at the scene in front of him.

"See?" Castle said, causing Beckett to look over at him with questioning eyes, "A family dynamic." Kate bit her lip and giggled, as she reached forward to capture her partner's lips once more.

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><p><strong>Just a little one-shot inspired the above prompt, hope I did it justice! Caskett with a pup was just too cute to resist!<strong>

**Thanks for reading bubs,**

**Lou xo**

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><p><strong>Castle Tumblr; pulling-becketts-pigtails<strong>

**AO3; pullingbeckettspigtails**


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